University leaders have cautioned students planning to take part in pro-Palestinian demonstrations to coincide with the anniversary of the 7 October Hamas attacks, warning them that “expressing support for a terrorist organisation is a criminal offence”.
Up to 10 events – variously described as vigils, rallies and debates – are thought to have been planned on or near campuses on Tuesday, including an “inter-university” march in London, involving students and staff from several London institutions.
It will be the second anniversary of the Hamas attacks on Israel, which left 1,200 people dead, many more injured or kidnapped and sparked the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 65,000 people.
Universities UK (UUK), which represents vice-chancellors and acts as the voice of the sector, wrote to members last week after the attack on Heaton Park synagogue in Manchester, warning that the anniversary was a “potential flashpoint” and urging members to “review security arrangements”.
Vivienne Stern, the UUK’s chief executive, said: “While universities must be places where contentious views can be expressed, and while universities have a legal duty to uphold free speech, we urge students and staff participating in protests to remember that 7 October is the anniversary of an atrocious attack on innocent people, and that expressing support for a terrorist organisation is a criminal offence.”
Details of the London march are posted on Instagram under the banner headline: “Inter-university march. Two years of genocide and our institutions remain complicit.” It calls for a walkout of classes at 2pm, with the route taking in King’s College London (KCL), the London School of Economics, University College London and finishing at SOAS.
Other 7 October events have been advertised at the University of Sheffield, where the Revolutionary Communist party is staging a “rally for Palestine”, and Strathclyde University, where the Palestine Solidarity Society is staging a “Protest 4 Palestine”, while KCL Students for Justice for Palestine has an evening of debate and discussion called “Why it didn’t start on October 7th”.
Stern said there has been a “deeply concerning” rise in antisemitic incidents in the last two years and the “UUK has worked closely with university leaders to tackle this”. She urged university leaders to maintain close contact with Jewish student groups and to publicise mechanisms for reporting antisemitic incidents.
“We have signposted resources to help universities combat antisemitism both from Universities UK and from the Community Security Trust and the Union of Jewish Students,” she added.
Louis Danker, the president of the Union of Jewish Students, said: “We respect the right to protest and the importance of free speech within the law. There are 365 days in the year and on one of them – 7 October – Jewish students seek the space to mourn their loved ones murdered in southern Israel.
“Moreover, marking ‘two years of resistance’ on 7 October echoes the explicit justification and glorification of the Hamas terrorist attacks on campus witnessed over the last two years.
“No Jewish student should have to stand by as others glorify a day that marks such loss for our community. We have written to vice-chancellors and university leaders to remind them of their obligation to stand against the glorification of terror.”
On Monday evening Keir Starmer urged students not to take part in what he called “un-British” protests.
Writing in the Times, the prime minister said: “Let me just spell that out for a moment: people on our streets calling for the murder of Jewish people they have never even met, for something they are not responsible for. A total loss of empathy and humanity not in some faraway land but right here in the heart of our country.
“And today, on the anniversary of the atrocities of 7 October, students are once again planning protests. This is not who we are as a country. It’s un-British to have so little respect for others. And that’s before some of them decide to start chanting hatred towards Jewish people all over again.”
On Saturday police arrested almost 500 people in London at what organisers hoped would be the biggest demonstration so far against a ban on the proscribed organisation Palestine Action.
The demonstration went ahead despite Starmer calling on protesters to call it off to “respect the grief of British Jews”, while Jewish leaders described the action as “phenomenally tone deaf” after Thursday’s killing of two people in the terror attack on a Manchester synagogue.
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The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said: “The horrific tragedy in Manchester makes clear now more than ever that there is absolutely no place for antisemitic abuse or harassment, hate speech or violence in our society.
“I would urge those planning to protest to show decency and humanity when deciding whether to do so, given the immense pain many people in the Jewish community will be feeling on 7 October.
“I remain steadfast in my support for university vice-chancellors in tackling the scourge of antisemitic abuse and harassment on campuses, and I have written to them in support of their efforts.”
